Influencers have quietly taken over the role journalists once held: shaping public opinion, setting the agenda, and deciding what becomes “news.” And the scariest part? Most of us don’t even notice it happening.

When a ring light becomes more powerful than a newsroom

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and you’ll see it immediately: creators explaining elections, wars, climate policy, or the latest EU decision — often with more reach than any traditional news outlet. In Belgium, some influencers now have larger audiences than VRT NWS or De Standaard. Their content feels personal, fast, and easy to digest. But it’s also rarely fact‑checked, and almost never transparent about sources.

Meanwhile, journalists spend hours verifying information, calling experts, and checking context. Yet their work is buried under algorithm‑friendly videos filmed in bedrooms. The result? A generation that trusts charisma over credibility.

Europe is waking up — but maybe too late

The European Union is finally reacting. Under the Digital Services Act, platforms must remove harmful misinformation faster and be more transparent about how content spreads.The European Commission also launched an Influencer Legal Hub, which explains the rules influencers must follow across the EU. France has gone even further with a national law that regulates influencer advertising, transparency, and banned promotions. These are important steps, but they don’t solve the core issue: audiences increasingly prefer influencers because journalism feels slow, distant, and complicated. Instead of competing on accuracy, creators compete on attention. And attention wins.

Journalism can’t survive if we treat it like background noise

We can’t blame influencers for doing what the platforms reward. But we can blame ourselves for consuming news like entertainment. Journalism is supposed to challenge us, not comfort us. It should make us think, not just scroll. If we want a society that understands what’s happening — not just what’s trending — we need to value journalism again. That means paying for it, sharing it, and demanding it. Because if influencers become our main source of information, we won’t just lose journalism. We’ll lose the truth.